| It is accepted that insurance fraud goes on even | | | | fact, offend the ordinary customers. At the |
| though it is an illegal practice. Is it seen as | | | | company in East Grinstead, they use psychological |
| vengeance against insurers' ever increasing | | | | techniques as part of general conversations. "We |
| premiums, but who try hard to avoid paying out | | | | build up a rapport with the customer, which is |
| on claims when they come. Insurance fraud is a | | | | great if they are genuine. It is also good if they |
| problem and costs an estimated £3 billion | | | | are not," said Gabrielle Ashley, founder of ACM |
| annually. The festive season is notoriously bad - in | | | | with Bill Truemen, an ex fraud specialist at Lloyds |
| the New Year claims rise by 40% as the | | | | TSB and Direct Line. |
| over-spending at Christmas catches up. | | | | The first step is to compile a written 'virgin |
| The industry is not taking it any more, and, has | | | | version' of the case from a telephone |
| introduced techniques developed by the United | | | | conversation with the claimant from the second |
| States police called 'Cognitive Interviewing'. It is | | | | they discovered the problem up to contacting |
| used to expose lies of insurance cheats whom | | | | their insurers. Then they ask questions and probe |
| are unaware they are being questioned. | | | | various points to get different perspectives. Ms |
| A UK company based in East Grinstead, West | | | | Ashley said. "If you are telling the truth, it comes |
| Sussex, is pioneering the technique and they have | | | | from the filing cabinet left side of your brain. If |
| on board many top insurance companies. When | | | | you are lying, it comes from the right side, and |
| their researchers communicate with claimants | | | | you change your language and the tenses you |
| they act as if they are the insurers so as not to | | | | are using," |
| raise suspicions. They pride themselves in saving, | | | | Decisions to reject claims have only had a 1% |
| for every 100 cases, a sum of £37,000 | | | | appeal rate and no-one has taken them to the |
| and as we know, fraudulent claims are worth a | | | | insurance ombudsman or to court despite having |
| lot of money each year - 15% of all favourable | | | | dealt with over 3,500 cases. |
| claims, so if the whole industry used this technique | | | | Other insurance companies are developing their |
| they could make huge savings. | | | | own versions of cognitive interviewing. But some |
| The £3bn is largely claimed on motor | | | | companies remain sceptical about these methods. |
| insurance policies; most suspicious are fire damage | | | | Norwich Union does not consider any one fraud |
| claims, and unusual travel and homes claims. | | | | detection system in isolation to be a 'silver bullet'. |
| Ultimately, the submitting of dishonest claims | | | | They adopt a layered approach, combining a |
| directly effects all policy holders and their | | | | framework of manual and technology-based |
| premiums go up. | | | | controls. As part of this, they seek to balance the |
| Latterly, insurers relied on the covert use of lie | | | | twin goals of enhanced fraud savings with |
| detectors when dealing with telephone claims but | | | | minimum impact on their genuine customers in |
| also worried that stringent questioning might, in | | | | terms of delay or other inconvenience. |